Electric charge of atmospheric nanoparticles and its potential implications with human health

This research presents a pilot project developed within the framework of the COST Action 15,211 in which atmospheric nanoparticles were measured in July 2018, in a maritime environment in the city of Santander in Northern Spain. ELPI (R) + (Electrical low-Pressure Impactor) was used to measure nanoparticle properties (electric charge, number, size distribution and surface area) from 6 nm to 10,000 nm with 14 size channels. This study focused on the range between 6 and 380 nm. It considered atmospheric nanoparticle electric charge with surface area, deposited and number by size distribution at human respiratory tract regions in a standard person in Santander according to the human respiratory tract model of ICRP 94. An empirical distribution of nanoparticles deposited in the human respiratory tract model and its electric charge is presented for the city of Santander as the main output. Percentages of total and regional deposition in human respiratory tract model were calculated for the Atlantic climate. Nanoparticles have shown an alveolar surface area deposition plateau with a size distribution range between 6 nm to 150 nm. Negative charge of nanoparticles was clearly associated with primary atmospheric nanoparticles being mainly deposited in the alveolar region where a Brownian mechanism of deposition is predominant. We can demonstrate that electric charge may be a key element in explaining Brownian deposition of the smallest particles in the human respiratory tract and that it can be linked to theoretical positive and negative impacts on human health according to several biometeorological studies. To support our analysis, aerosol samples were characterized with transmission electron microscopy and Confocal Raman spectrometer to determinate morphology, size, chemical composition, and structure. The toxicological effects of the samples with the alveolar surface area had a greater deposition, remain to be studied.Peer reviewe

Study of PM10 and PM2.5 levels in three European cities: Analysis of intra and inter urban variations

In the present paper, 1-year PM10 and PM 2.5 data from roadside and urban background monitoring stations in Athens (Greece), Madrid (Spain) and London (UK) are analysed in relation to other air pollutants (NO,NO2,NOx,CO,O3 and SO2)and several meteorological parameters (wind velocity, temperature, relative humidity, precipitation, solar radiation and atmospheric pressure), in order to investigate the sources and factors affecting particulate pollution in large European cities. Principal component and regression analyses are therefore used to quantify the contribution of both combustion and non-combustion sources to the PM10 and PM 2.5 levels observed. The analysis reveals that the EU legislated PM 10 and PM2.5 limit values are frequently breached, forming a potential public health hazard in the areas studied. The seasonal variability patterns of particulates varies among cities and sites, with Athens and Madrid presenting higher PM10 concentrations during the warm period and suggesting the larger relative contribution of secondary and natural particles during hot and dry days. It is estimated that the contribution of non-combustion sources varies substantially among cities, sites and seasons and ranges between 38-67% and 40-62% in London, 26-50% and 20-62% in Athens, and 31-58% and 33-68% in Madrid, for both PM10 and PM 2.5. Higher contributions from non-combustion sources are found at urban background sites in all three cities, whereas in the traffic sites the seasonal differences are smaller. In addition, the non-combustion fraction of both particle metrics is higher during the warm season at all sites. On the whole, the analysis provides evidence of the substantial impact of non-combustion sources on local air quality in all three cities. While vehicular exhaust emissions carry a large part of the risk posed on human health by particle exposure, it is most likely that mitigation measures designed for their reduction will have a major effect only at traffic sites and additional measures will be necessary for the control of background levels. However, efforts in mitigation strategies should always focus on optimal health effects

Glossary on atmospheric electricity and its effects on biology

[EN] There is an increasing interest to study the interactions between atmospheric electrical parameters and living organisms at multiple scales. So far, relatively few studies have been published that focus on possible biological effects of atmospheric electric and magnetic fields. To foster future work in this area of multidisciplinary research, here we present a glossary of relevant terms. Its main purpose is to facilitate the process of learning and communication among the different scientific disciplines working on this topic. While some definitions come from existing sources, other concepts have been re-defined to better reflect the existing and emerging scientific needs of this multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary area of research.This paper is based upon work from the COST Action "Atmospheric Electricity Network: coupling with the Earth System, climate and biological systems (ELECTRONET)," supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology). 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Bayesian Algorithm Implementation in a Real Time Exposure Assessment Model on Benzene with Calculation of Associated Cancer Risks

The objective of the current study was the development of a reliable modeling platform to calculate in real time the personal exposure and the associated health risk for filling station employees evaluating current environmental parameters (traffic, meteorological and amount of fuel traded) determined by the appropriate sensor network. A set of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) was developed to predict benzene exposure pattern for the filling station employees. Furthermore, a Physiology Based Pharmaco-Kinetic (PBPK) risk assessment model was developed in order to calculate the lifetime probability distribution of leukemia to the employees, fed by data obtained by the ANN model. Bayesian algorithm was involved in crucial points of both model sub compartments. The application was evaluated in two filling stations (one urban and one rural). Among several algorithms available for the development of the ANN exposure model, Bayesian regularization provided the best results and seemed to be a promising technique for prediction of the exposure pattern of that occupational population group. On assessing the estimated leukemia risk under the scope of providing a distribution curve based on the exposure levels and the different susceptibility of the population, the Bayesian algorithm was a prerequisite of the Monte Carlo approach, which is integrated in the PBPK-based risk model. In conclusion, the modeling system described herein is capable of exploiting the information collected by the environmental sensors in order to estimate in real time the personal exposure and the resulting health risk for employees of gasoline filling stations

Assessment and prevention of acute health effects of weather conditions in Europe, the PHEWE project: background, objectives, design

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The project "Assessment and prevention of acute health effects of weather conditions in Europe" (PHEWE) had the aim of assessing the association between weather conditions and acute health effects, during both warm and cold seasons in 16 European cities with widely differing climatic conditions and to provide information for public health policies.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The PHEWE project was a three-year pan-European collaboration between epidemiologists, meteorologists and experts in public health. Meteorological, air pollution and mortality data from 16 cities and hospital admission data from 12 cities were available from 1990 to 2000. The short-term effect on mortality/morbidity was evaluated through city-specific and pooled time series analysis. The interaction between weather and air pollutants was evaluated and health impact assessments were performed to quantify the effect on the different populations. A heat/health watch warning system to predict oppressive weather conditions and alert the population was developed in a subgroup of cities and information on existing prevention policies and of adaptive strategies was gathered.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Main results were presented in a symposium at the conference of the International Society of Environmental Epidemiology in Paris on September 6^th2006 and will be published as scientific articles. The present article introduces the project and includes a description of the database and the framework of the applied methodology.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The PHEWE project offers the opportunity to investigate the relationship between temperature and mortality in 16 European cities, representing a wide range of climatic, socio-demographic and cultural characteristics; the use of a standardized methodology allows for direct comparison between cities.</p

Sources and factors affecting PM10 levels in two European cities: Implications for local air quality management

Despite improvements in vehicle and fuel technology that have led to reductions in primary particle emissions, high PM10 levels have been observed in recent years in several European cities, including Athens (Greece) and Birmingham (UK). In certain cases, high PM10 concentrations have persisted over periods of several hours, resulting in exceedences of EU target values. In order to design effective PM10 control strategies, it is essential to develop an understanding of local and remote sources of particulate matter, as well as of the factors influencing its temporal and spatial variability in urban areas. In this study, PM10 data from Athens and Birmingham were analysed for relationships to other pollutants (NOx, CO, O-3 and SO2) and meteorological parameters (wind velocity, temperature, relative humidity, precipitation, solar radiation and atmospheric pressure) during a 3-year period (2001-2003). Significant positive correlations between PM10 and NOx, CO, and solar radiation were observed at the selected monitoring sites during cold seasons. On the other hand, negative correlations between PM10 and O-3, wind speed and precipitation were observed during the same seasons. However, these correlations became weaker during warm seasons, probably due to secondary aerosol formation and enhanced soil dust re-suspension. Furthermore, principal component and regression analyses were used to quantify the contribution of non-combustion sources to the observed PM10 background levels. This contribution ranged between 45% and 70% in Birmingham and 41-74% in Athens. Finally, several winter and summer PM10 episodes from each city were analysed using a back trajectory model, in order to identify the origin of the polluted air masses. It was found that long-range transport of particles from continental Europe had a marked effect on PM10 background levels in Birmingham, while the local weather had a stronger influence on PM10 levels in Athens. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Burden of Natural-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality Associated with Long-Term Exposure to PM2.5: A Case Study in Attica Region, Greece

In this study, the AirQ+ software proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) was applied in order to assess the health endpoints associated with the long-term exposure to PM2.5 in Attica Region, Greece. For this purpose, we analyzed the daily average concentrations of PM2.5 registered by the air quality monitoring stations in the region, from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2018. Although there was a decreasing trend in PM2.5 concentrations levels, the levels of PM2.5 exceeded the AQG (Air Quality Guidelines) limit value (annual value: 5 &mu;g/m3) established by the WHO. The findings revealed that the burden of mortality (from all-natural causes) at people above 30 years old associated with PM2.5 exposure was 4752 [3179&ndash;6152] deaths in 2007 and 2424 [1598&ndash;3179] deaths in 2018. In general, the attributable mortality from specific causes of deaths (e.g., lung cancer, IHD (ischemic heart diseases) and stroke) in people above 25 years old decreased between the years, but the mortality from COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases) was stable at 146 [79&ndash;220] deaths in 2007 and 147 [63&ndash;244] deaths in 2018. We also found differences in mortality cases from IHD and stroke among the age groups and between the years 2007 and 2018

Burden of Natural-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality Associated with Long-Term Exposure to PM_2.5: A Case Study in Attica Region, Greece

In this study, the AirQ+ software proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) was applied in order to assess the health endpoints associated with the long-term exposure to PM2.5 in Attica Region, Greece. For this purpose, we analyzed the daily average concentrations of PM2.5 registered by the air quality monitoring stations in the region, from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2018. Although there was a decreasing trend in PM2.5 concentrations levels, the levels of PM2.5 exceeded the AQG (Air Quality Guidelines) limit value (annual value: 5 μg/m3) established by the WHO. The findings revealed that the burden of mortality (from all-natural causes) at people above 30 years old associated with PM2.5 exposure was 4752 [3179–6152] deaths in 2007 and 2424 [1598–3179] deaths in 2018. In general, the attributable mortality from specific causes of deaths (e.g., lung cancer, IHD (ischemic heart diseases) and stroke) in people above 25 years old decreased between the years, but the mortality from COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases) was stable at 146 [79–220] deaths in 2007 and 147 [63–244] deaths in 2018. We also found differences in mortality cases from IHD and stroke among the age groups and between the years 2007 and 2018

Science and Policy Challenges of Atmospheric Modelling in Consideration of Health Effects

Next generations of atmospheric models are required to provide a realistic assessment of different types of chronic and acute environmental conditions and forecast the consequences on population health. These tasks were carried out usually with epidemiological studies, which are not adequate to indicate health effects, or even worse, they might lead into the introduction of wrong solutions. In order to achieve this, models should be capable to carry out hazard identification, dose-response evaluations, population exposure assessment and risk characterization, especially for the realistic evaluation of adverse effects if a toxic substance is absorbed by a particular organism or population in urban areas where the population density is significantly high. The present work examines in detail if sufficient limit values are set in exposure media; if exposure assessment is now possible by using compliance data; if health impact assessment possible, and finally, if tracing exposure back to sources is achievable.JRC.H-Institute for Environment and Sustainability (Ispra